Article
First timers in Tennis Paradise...get to know five of them
3 Min Read · March 4, 2026
Every year, you’ll find fans experiencing Tennis Paradise for the first time. Every year, some pros will be experiencing Tennis Paradise for the first time, too.
With that in mind, here are an exciting five making their main draw debuts in Indian Wells.
Get TicketsIf you’re on site and planning to watch Alexandra Eala, make sure to get to her court early. Very early. Seats will go fast. You’re sure to be surrounded by passionate fans waving flags of the Philippines.
The 20-year-old lefty who trains at Rafael Nadal’s academy first made a splash during the Sunshine Double in 2025 — in Miami. As a 140th-ranked wildcard, Eala went all the way to the semifinals, beating Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek along the way.
Eala hasn’t stopped there, climbing so much in the rankings that she has a bye in the first round.
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This time last year, Victoria Mboko competed at a lower-level tournament in Portugal ranked just inside the top 200. Now she’s inside the top 10.
That tells you that the Canadian — who was born in North Carolina — has done a whole of lot winning in 12 months.
Perhaps most notably, Mboko won her home WTA 1000 event in Montreal last August, overcoming the likes of Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka.
“I do see someone who is going to have a really bright future,” Gauff said after her loss to Mboko.
The duo played doubles together in Doha last month, where Mboko made yet another final of a 1000 in singles.
What happened at the Shanghai Masters last October didn’t only generate a buzz among tennis fans worldwide. It resonated with the casual sports fan, too.
Valentin Vacherot beat his cousin and former Texas A&M teammate, Arthur Rinderknech, in the final — doing so as a qualifier ranked 204th at the time.
He became the first man ranked outside the top 200 to win a Masters 1000 shield since the series began in 1990.
As a result of his heroics in Shanghai — which included a victory over Novak Djokovic — his ranking soared to No. 40.
Vacherot ended last season by reaching the quarterfinals of another Masters 1000 tournament — in Paris, where he topped Rinderknech again.
Like Eala and Mboko, Vacherot has a bye in the first round.
Even though Janice Tjen hails from Indonesia, in one way, she’s not playing far from home in Indian Wells.
The 23-year-old went to university at Pepperdine in Malibu, California.
Tjen wasn’t sure she would turn pro but with some advice from her nearest and dearest, decided to give it a go.
Judging by her 2025 season, it was the right decision.
When she fully embarked on her pro career last April, her ranking sat just inside the top 400.
With her game clicking — her role model is former No. 1 Ashleigh Barty — Tjen cracked the top 100 in October and later bagged her first WTA title.
Her first match in Tennis Paradise comes against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.
Terence Atmane, unlike the above quartet, has played in Indian Wells before, in qualifying. Last year, the Frenchman lost to James Duckworth in two tiebreaks.
In 2024, Atmane fell to Luca Nardi, who might always be remembered in Indian Wells for his win over Djokovic in that same edition.
Atmane this time earned a direct spot into the tournament, coming in ranked at a career best No. 52.
A lefty with all the shots and stellar movement, Atmane made the semifinals in Cincinnati last year, testing Jannik Sinner. He then took a set off Sinner in Beijing in September.
Atmane — who says his IQ is a sky high 158 — meets Grigor Dimitrov in his opener.
